Paul Ryder
Paul Anthony Ryder was an English musician. He was a bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays with his brother Shaun Ryder.
Early life
Paul and Shaun are the two sons of Derek Ryder, a postman, and his wife Linda, a nurse.Career
Happy Mondays
Ryder was an active member of the band through most of its history from its inception in 1983 through to his death. His bandmates include his brother Shaun, Gary Whelan, Mark "Bez" Berry, Paul Davies and Mark Day. It was during his tenure with the band that it had its biggest successes with albums such as Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches which sold more than 400,000 copies in the UK. The Ryder brothers fell out in the 1990s as both brothers struggled with heroin addiction, but he rejoined the band for their 2012 comeback.Acting
Ryder appeared in the films The Ghosts of Oxford Street, Losing It, and 24 Hour Party People, where he played the part of a gangster.Other projects
Ryder left Happy Mondays to write music for several television shows, including Turn on Terry for ITV1, Baby's Birth Day for Granada TV and Forensics School for Discovery. He then formed a new band, Big Arm, who released an album in 2008 titled Radiator. He also played bass for Ian Brown on one of his solo tours.Ryder lived in Los Angeles where he continued to write music. He supported Tom Tom Club on two of the dates on the North America tour in October 2010, playing gigs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He was joined by Eddy Gronfier, Neo Garcia on drums and Matt Cheadle on guitar.
In the months leading up to his death, he recorded a video podcast, The Paul Ryder Tapes, with his ex-wife, journalist and TV producer Angela Smith, detailing his life and the history of Happy Mondays. The podcast reached number one in both the UK and Ireland music podcast charts. He completed it just 12 days before his death and it was released in July 2023, a year on from his death.